The recent quake near Washington, D.C. served as a reminder that the earth occasionally moves in U.S. locales outside of California. At ADOT, we know that Arizona is not immune to seismic activity, either.

If you’ve been following along in the blog, you know that we’ve been chronicling ADOT’s reconstruction of the Mescal/J-Six bridge in southern Arizona since it was severely damaged when two semi trucks collided underneath it back in March. Completion of the fast-tracked bridge reconstruction is slated for later this month.

Last week we gave you an update on how the new Mescal/J-Six bridge is coming along... You might also remember that the night the damaged bridge was taken down, the old Marsh Station bridge was also demolished just a few miles away. It was a huge project that required completely shutting down I-10 for the night.

The new Mescal Road/J-Six interchange is taking shape! The Cochise County bridge will soon reunite two communities that were unexpectedly disconnected after trucks collided beneath the old overpass in March.

Talk about a quick turnaround … it’s been just three months since a fiery crash destroyed the Mescal Road/J-Six Ranch Road bridge in Cochise County and already ADOT has approved a contract to rebuild and reopen the bridge this fall.

In just 10 hours this past weekend, two bridges in southern Arizona were demolished in order to make way for something new. All it took was some good planning, plenty of patience from motorists, a few enormous machines, and a ton of work by crews on the sites.